Jacob Malkoun bemoans lackluster UFC Perth performance

Jacob Malkoun believes he wasn’t his usual self on Saturday. Malkoun (10-3) downed Gerald Meerschaert in a middleweight outing in front of a home crowd at UFC Perth, but he needed three full rounds to get it done. While Malkoun closed as an overwhelming -1400 betting favorite going in, the fight didn’t reflect the odds. Malkoun chose to grapple in the first round against the submission savant, who managed to control the round. Even as Malkoun bounced back in the later rounds, he could not establish the dominance expected of him. The Australian eventually earned a lukewarm unanimous decision win, one that did not earn his satisfaction. “Mamba” isn’t certain about what was off, and he plans to go back to the drawing board with his team. Malkoun said in his post-fight interview: “It wasn’t the performance I was hoping to do,” the Aussie remarked with frustration. “You learn from your losses. You gotta learn as much as you do with a win like that. You’re not happy, but at least you go home and work with how to get better… My coaches knew I was a bit off. You could tell that they knew something was wrong with me… But credit to Meerschaert, I know he is a veteran. Gave me a hard fight, I’m not gonna take the credit from him. He’s a tough dude… Just gotta figure out what was wrong. Maybe something with my weight cut, the food, we’ll figure out what it is.” Malkoun is currently riding a three-fight winning streak, his longest in the UFC. His finish rate fell to 30% with another decision on his ledger. Meanwhile, the 38-year-old Meerschaert (37-22) has now lost five in a row.

“It wasn't the performance I wanted to do.”

Jacob Malkoun (@Mambamalkoun) is just focused on getting better after securing his second win of 2026. #UFCPerth

Complete Prelim Results ➡️ pic.twitter.com/LJ5emg3Ciy— UFC News (@UFCNews) May 2, 2026